A collaboration with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and a network of international academic and industrial partners, the  ‘Staff Mobility to Action Resilient, Restorative & Regenerative Transitions & Societies’ (SMAR3TS) and ‘Driving Resilience, Engagement, Action and Mobility to Plan Climate-Positive Futures’ (DREAM + PLAN) projects mark strong steps towards research and innovation for environmental, social, and systemic resilience. Both initiatives, which bridge academic excellence and real-world impact, are brought to Cambridge by the Decision-Making for Emerging Technology group, led by Associate Professor Letizia Mortara.

These two ambitious Horizon Europe initiatives at the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) are aimed at advancing sustainable innovation and helping organisations navigate complex transitions in areas such as energy, housing, food, and mobility.

SMAR3TS

In collaboration with IfM Engage, the knowledge transfer arm of the IfM, SMAR3TS is a four-year Horizon Europe project funded under the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Staff Exchanges scheme of the European Commission. The initiative unites 35 partners worldwide, facilitating 360 person-months of staff mobility to provide advanced training in research translation, futures thinking, foresight, and other tools and techniques for societal impact.

The SMAR3TS project will develop the competencies, frameworks and collaborations needed to accelerate resilient, restorative and regenerative (R³) transitions across key areas of human need: nutrition, mobility, energy and housing. By leveraging interdisciplinary research, the project aims to generate practical insights that inform policy and shape climate-positive futures.

It focuses on advancing innovation, building green skills and strengthening systems to support fair, inclusive and sustainable societies. Alongside these research activities, SMAR3TS also places strong emphasis on communication and knowledge exchange to ensure its findings drive real-world impact, influence decision-making, and foster lasting collaboration between academia, industry, government and civil society.

The kick-off meeting in Barcelona in October brought together many of the project partners in person for the first time, providing an inspiring start to the collaboration.

 “We had a fantastic start to the project during our kick-off meeting in Barcelona, where the full consortium came together for the first time. A key focus of our discussions was how to facilitate meaningful exchanges across the network through a series of targeted calls,” says Letizia.“As the lead of one of the four core work packages in the SMAR3TS project, my focus is specifically on resilience, restoration, and regeneration as enablers of sustainable nutrition, but at IfM we want to enable collaboration across all the 4 main areas of human need.”

DREAM + PLAN

The DREAM + PLAN project was launched in Helsinki in October. Letizia and Anna Hoff, an IfM PhD student who will be working on the project, attended the meeting, which initiated this Marie Sklodowska-Curie COFUND doctoral programme designed to strengthen societal impact, cross-sector collaboration, and researcher mobility.

Overall, the programme will support 32 PhD students, equipping them with the skills to tackle climate-related challenges in resilient, restorative, and regenerative ways. In collaboration between IfM Engage, the Centre for Technology Management, and the Decision Making for Emerging Technologies group, the new PhD project will begin in January 2025 focussing on developing frameworks, case studies, and tools to enhance sustainability, innovation, and resilience.

“I am thrilled to see these two projects starting,” says Letizia. “They will bring forward important cross-disciplinary research for enhancing resilience, restoration and regeneration, in collaboration with a great international network of partners across industry and academia.”

Visit the project websites to find out more:

• SMAR3TS - https://www.smar3ts.eu/
• DREAM + PLAN - https://www.dreamplusplan.eu/